on November 13 |
in The Top Spot |
by Staff |
with Comments Off on Governor Deal breaks his silence on Braves deal

Saying that this isn’t a state issue, Governor Nathan Deal distanced himself from any controversy relating to the Braves move to Cobb County. You can’t help but notice the difference in response to the Falcons and the Braves.

Gov. Nathan Deal said Wednesday that he wasn’t asked to intervene in the deal that moves the Atlanta Braves to Cobb County during a meeting with franchise officials and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. He also said he doesn’t expect any state tax dollars to help foot the bill for the move.

He said he set up the meeting as an “interested observer” in the team’s relocation, but said his main priority was to make sure the franchise would remain in the area.

“I’m glad they are going to stay in Georgia and we want to make sure that happens,” he said. “And I have fairly good predictivity that that’s going to occur.”

Deal said Reed didn’t try to offer the team a last-ditch plan to stay within the city’s limits during the meeting, and said “details are trying to be worked out” with Cobb County over how they will finance a part of the $672 million stadium.

He would not close the door on the possibility that state dollars could go toward infrastructure improvements around the Cobb stadium, but said he doesn’t plan to chip in any state funds in next year’s budget for the Cumberland area.

“This is primarily a private venture,” Deal said. “It has been and I don’t expect that to change.”

He added: “I do not see this as something that the taxpayers of this state will be asked or called upon to pay for.”

Deal, for his part, would have little incentive for getting involved in the deal. The state doesn’t own Turner Field and it’s not a part of the Georgia World Congress Center, the sprawling convention campus in downtown. That’s a contrast to Deal’s involvement in keeping the Falcons, who play in the state-owned Georgia Dome, within the city limits.

What’s still uncertain is how the $672 million stadium will be financed. Braves officials are still mum on how much the team will spend to support the construction, and Cobb County Commission Chair Tim Lee is also tightlipped.